Kiss of the Rose Princess
by RedSakura-Princess
Summary: Most girls are crazy about jewelry, but not Mikan Sakura Yukihara. Not since her uncle gave her a rose choker as a child, claiming it was a protective amulet which would safeguard her from harm; however, if she ever took it off (a feat easier said than done!), she would be afflicted by a "punishment" of some sort.
1. A Day at Alice Academy

**Kiss of the Rose Princess**

Beta-Reader: **Brisken**

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**Chapter 1: A Day at Alice Academy**

_~Between __**Roses **__and __**Punishment**__…therein lies her fate~_

_**Shouoto Aya**_

**~O~**

**Normal POV:**

The melodic voice of the birds' song was heard all throughout the fields of Alice Academy along with the occasional honking of cars from outside of the academy caused by the bustling people. The cool breeze of fresh air blew the petals of the blooming Cherry Blossom Tree standing proudly outside of the brick building. It was a nice day to relax under the trees, feeling the cool breeze of the air and listening to the melodic voices of the birds singing. Well that was until…

"Stop! Hold it right there you-! Yukihara Sakura Mikan!" The booming sound of the voice of Jinno-sensei, the Disciplinary Committee Councilor of Alice Academy, rang throughout the fields of the academy, catching everyone's attention near the vicinity of the area.

Everyone turned their heads towards the direction of the voice and saw their teacher. He was running after a girl while holding a rope and scissors to supposedly catch her. Too bad for him the girl was seemingly running at the speed of an Olympic runner aiming for the gold. Panting, he relentlessly tried catching up with the running brunette who had blatantly violated the dress code of the academy.

"There's no _**way**_I'd stop and be caught by you!" Yelled the running girl who was panting with her eyes set on the main building of her academy.

Everyday this was their routine. The girl enters through the front of the gates, Jinno-sensei sees her, she sees him holding a rope and scissors, he tries to catch her and she runs away from him. Everyday the outcome and the words being said were identical as well.

"Not as long as you're waving that _**thing**_ around your neck!" Screamed the heavily panting teacher who was still running with the rope and scissors in his hands.

She turned her head around only to see that the teacher had gained speed and was currently catching up to her with a demonic aura surrounding him. His cold brown eyes were wide with rage and his stern lips were set into a sinister grin which only added to his intimidating appearance.

"What the-?" She wailed while running. She increased her speed so that the teacher couldn't catch up to her because she was more than terrified of the scene she just had witnessed. The thought of being caught by her tormentor made her scared shitless.

"OOOH NO YOU DON'T! TODAY'S THE DAY, YUKIHARA! THAT CHOKER OF YOURS IS COMING OFF TODAY!" The teacher twirled the rope in the air like a cow boy and attempted to catch her by throwing the rope towards her direction. He looked like a mad-man after missing, what with his face turning red and his nose flaring up. "You know that thing is a blatant violation of the dress code in the academy! How many times do I have to tell you that?! I've already lost count considering that I say that everyday to your face! Are you that thick headed?!"

"But it _**won't**_come off! I've also lost count of how many times I have to tell you that!" She replied hastily.

"WHICH IS WHY I FULLY INTEND TO TAKE IT OFF FOR YOU…**BY FORCE**, IF NEED TO BE!" After that, a maniacal laugh was heard throughout the fields. Shivers ran down her spine as she heard it's menacing aura.

"NOOOOOO!" Yelled the frustrated and terrified brunette.

Sometimes that teacher could be awfully scary. Oh wait scratch that, he was _always_ scary to begin with. Building up her courage she turned her head to find the teacher running a few meters behind her with a scary grin etched on his face. Instead of an ordinary pair of scissors like the ones that he was holding earlier, he was now holding _**Garden Scissors.**_With a horrified expression imprinted onto her face, she dashed to the Main Building up ahead and left the psychotic teacher behind.

**Mikan's POV:**

Stupid Jin-Jin even I… I want it off, too. I WOULD HAVE TAKEN IT OFF A LONG TIME AGO, IF ONLY I COULD! It's because this is a gift from my uncle. My oldest memory of Uncle and I is what he said about this stupid choker…

_Flashback:_

"_Listen to me now Mikan, You mustn't ever untie this necklace nor lose it. This is something precious that will always keep you safe, Mikan, a charm of protection. If you__**ever**__lose it, a terrible, fearsome__**Punishment**__will befall you"._

_End of Flashback:_

Even though I couldn't honestly say I've had the chance to make many memories with my uncle, that memory of him was still the most vivid. I couldn't help but to wonder... what kind of '_Punishment__**'**_was he talking about back then?

Okay, okay so I have tried to remove the choker a few times just to see if something would happen. After all I'm at a rebellious age people. But when I tried, nothing would cut through it so I was never able to take it off. Therefore, I was never able to find out what this so called 'Punishment' was.

To make matters worse, every time I tried, something bad would _always_ happen afterwards! My stupid uncle said that this moronic choker necklace would protect me, but he was sorely mistaken. All the thing has done is cause me trouble. Thanks to this choker, I've even had to switch schools multiple times due to disregarding the dress code and bombing quizzes and tests. My teachers would reprimand me, my friends would ask questions and when I tried to end all of the suffering by just cutting it, bad luck would fall into my lap. One time, I was mugged, another, I fell out of tree and broke my hand and another time, I failed 5 tests in a row.

_Flashback:_

_Sigh. Stupid Jin-Jin, always chasing me around even though he knows he can't catch me. How's he supposed to catch me when he can't even catch a disabled dog? Hehe, I think he's already getting old. I snickered at the thought of what Jin-Jin would look like if he were old and couldn't even catch a mere turtle._

_I slung my back pack behind me and felt a sudden stinging pain on my upper back._

_"Ouch! It Hurts!" I cried before touching the part throbbing area only to feel a slightly lump in my back._

_I racked my brain for information to remember where I got the bruise from. "Must be from the impact when I hit the wall earlier. Better go home early and treat this fast or else it will get worse"._

_I saw an alleyway along the road and remembered that it connected to the other side which was beside my apartment._

"_Well I better take a shortcut and rest in my comfy bed in my apartment," I chirped merrily._

_I walked into the narrow path, disregarding the foul stench and creeping darkness._

_I better call Hotaru to tell her what my situation here is and to update her about the happenings here while she's gone. After focusing more on my surroundings, I found myself feeling uneasy and horrified. How could I be so stupid as to walk into a dark and mysterious alleyway?__I shivered, literally afraid of what the outcome may be if something may happen to me._

But it seemed that luck was not on my side that day…

"_Hey Bitch, watcha got on your neck 'der?" A skank called out from the darkness. She stepped out to reveal herself and her friend._

_I unconsciously lifted my hand to my neck, feeling the rose beneath my fingers. "It's nothing," I stuttered._

_The second girl grasped my shirt threatening before spitting, "It ain't nutin. Show us the god-damned jewels gurl!"_

_My breath hitched before I yelled,_ "_No, no, nothing like that! Sorry to bother you!"_

_After that, I ran like the demons were nipping my heels. I ran without looking back, in fear of seeing their slimy faces grinning madly at me. I ran to my apartment like the little girl that I was._

_End of Flashback:_

Ding-Dong~

I snapped out of my revere when the bell rang. Oh crap! Stupid Jin-Jin was always that reason that I was late for my classes. Plus our daily routine wore me out to the point of not being capable of listening to my teachers teachings.

"Come on Mikan-chan! You can do it!" I heard a voice above me and saw familiar faces of my classmates cheering along with the faces of my best friends.

"Class is going to start without you~! Steal home plate! You can do it! Just a little bit more! You're almost inside!"

"Good Luck!"

"Haha! The disciplinary teach' is eating your DUST!"

Voices of my friends echoed above me. Because of this stupid choker it made me stand out more than anyone. When it comes to the teachers, the people around me and my classmates. Sigh. This life is hard. If this stupid choker really was a charm of protection, then I wish that it would let me live my life just a little bit more peacefully.

**End of Mikan's POV**

**~O~**

**Normal POV:**

The running brunette was already inside the school building. She looked behind and found out that Jinno-sensei was not chasing her anymore. Seeing her classroom, Mikan bolted inside and slammed the door shut behind her. She then proceeded to slouch against the frame in exhaustion.

'_Pheew another morning, another close call.'_

Two girls approached the panting girl who was still leaning on the door after running quite a long distance.

"Chalk up another win for team Mikan," Exclaimed a bubblegum-haired girl with ultramarine orbs. Her name was Anna Uminomiya, one of Mikan's best friends.

"We can always count on you for one heck of a morning race between you and Jin-Jin. Good work out there today, you were great," Cheered another girl with midnight-blue hair and matching wells. Her name is Nonoko Ogasawara, also one of Mikan's best friends.

"Thanks, but I wouldn't have to run so fast if I wasn't being chased like that by Jin-Jin. Add that his expression on his face was just beyond terrifying and my morning equals Hell. He looks like a person ready to eat the living daylights out of you." Mikan shivered at the thought.

When the the two girls were just about to reply, the door to their classroom suddenly opened and…

_**SMACK!**_

"HEY! Excuse you! Aren't you looking where you're going?!" Mikan turned around to see the face of the one who bumped into her to give him or her a piece of her mind only to see…


	2. Kuro Neko

**Kiss of the Rose Princess**

**Beta-Reader:** Brisken

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**Chapter 2: Kuro Neko**

_"It's hard to forget someone who gave you so much to remember__" _

**-Unknown**

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**Normal POV:**

It was him. His tall frame towered above her own petite form. She kept her amber eyes at eye-level slightly afraid to look at him in his eyes. She could already see them now: Blazing like a fire kindled by hatred. Slowly, she peeled her eyes from is chiseled chest, allowing them to roam the length of his muscular neck and broad shoulders. Mikan lost her determination to continue upon seeing his tightened jay twitching in annoyance and his pink lips thinned into a line.

Taking a breath of courage, her eyes finished the journey by skimming over his tanned nose that was seemingly perfect before she finally met her destination: His eyes. They were just as she had recalled, albeit more stunning with their close proximity. With the amount of irk he felt, they danced perilously, making the red seem to have different hues such as crimson and rust. His raven brows were raised slightly, silently warning Mikan to step aside.

Having the stubbornness of a horse, the brunette stayed put, briefly oogling his silk-like black locks that fell messily over his intimidating orbs. She knew full well of his reputation. He had good grades and he excelled at any sport that he participated, especially sword fighting. His alias, _Kuro Neko,_ simply fitted him for the simple fact that if he held a weapon he could silently attack anyone, maiming them to the point of becoming a liability.

Most girls swooned over him. He even had a fan club throughout the academy with a lot of members, most being girls with the exception of a couple of boys. He was infamously known as the hottest guy in their year at high school. Some even went as fair as calling him the hottest in their entire school.

Also, a lot of girls confessed their love for him and he would _always_ rudely reject them. Still, even after being shut down and having all of your errors announced to the school from his smooth lips, the girls would vainly continue in pursue of him. They'd send him gifts and do his bidding without apprehension. To Mikan, he was sickening. No matter how hot a guy was, it didn't matter so long as their attitude was horrid.

Natsume always had the quality of being rude, mean and cold-hearted to others. He had a bad-boy image in the academy, which most girls find sexy in guys.

Overall he was perfect, except for one tiny little detail which no one knew except for himself…

**~O~**

He was heading to the High School Division where his classroom was located. Hanging off of his shoulders was his bag which mostly contained shounen mangas instead of notes. Occasionally he would just skip classes and head straight to the Cherry Blossom Tree where he'd sleep all day long until classes were over. However, he couldn't do that anymore.

Yesterday he received a warning from the high school principal saying that if he ever missed a single class again, he would automatically repeat another year in school and he would be behind his classmates.

"Tch. As if I'll let them do that to me," Grumbled the frustrated raven-haired lad under his breath.

As he leisurely strolled to his class, he heard some voices shouting around the field of the academy. He looked over in the direction where he heard the voices coming from. Across the distance he could make out two silhouettes. One was obviously a girl with her long brown hair swaying in every direction from the speed she was gaining and the other silhouette he saw was a man with garden scissors running after the girl.

_Seriously. Who in his right mind would carry a pair of garden scissor while attempting to catch a girl?_

As he was nearing the field he identified immediately the two silhouettes he saw before. How could he not identify those two? They were the two people at the top of his _Most Hated Persons in the Academy_ list.

The girl that was being chased was in his class and was otherwise known as the one that humiliated him in front of everyone during the Sports Festival in the academy. Her name was Mikan Sakura Yukihara, one of the best runners in the Academy. Stupid girl could even out-run him which only further infuriated Natsume.

"As if I'll forget that face of hers," Scoffed the raven-haired with disdain.

His piercing wells transferred to behind her and his scowl deepened. At the sight of the Disciplinary Committee Councilor of the academy, his fowl mood worsened considerably. Considering that he was a bad-ass and Moron Jin-Jin was the DCC teacher, they were not on good terms. After all, he was the one who would always report him for occasionally skipping classes.

He could feel it in his veins that the teacher simply hated him because he humiliated him during their lesson in Math. Natsume was simply correcting the teacher because the formula that he showed them was merely wrong.

Is it that bad? He was only helping and this was what he got? So much for helping someone and receiving something in return.

Moron Jin-Jin had hated him ever since that incident and used his occasional skipping of classes as an opportunity to get his revenge. He despised the teacher and the feeling was unconditionally mutual.

He ignored the scene altogether and proceeded into the high school building before he became utterly late which might result in him repeating another year in this shitty academy. Without another thought in his mind, Natsume stepped in the school building. The air became tense and still momentarily before all of the girls nearby squealed or began whispering of his attributes.

They seemed to never get tired of doing this same routine every single day.

Not only girls were whispering, some guys were also talking about how they idolized Natsume Hyuuga because of his grades and talents and how he was setting such a good example for everyone. It occasionally amazed him how everyone would suddenly forget how bad-ass he was just to compliment how perfect he seemed.

Then, they seemed to remember the rumors. Some were of him killing another in the garden while others fibbed of his 'fake' body. The student body had seemingly become accustomed of the feeling of being terrified yet awed at the same moment.

As the raven-haired lad ascended the stairs that led to the second floor, the bell rang. He cursed under his breath for being late and began quickening his pace at the thought of Jinno reporting him again. As he walked faster towards the stairs leading up to the third floor, someone passed by him in a rush. Natsume saw a glimpse of brown hair from the running girl before she disappeared altogether around the corner.

He slowed down eventually, knowing full well that he was already late. No use in crying over spilt milk. Natsume was just hoping that Jinno wouldn't catch him arriving late in his classes, _again_.

"Tch. Just another plain old boring day in a boring school full of boring people. There's never anything fun to do here," Brooded the raven-haired lad.

Oh. How wrong he is…

**~O~**

He was already outside their room when he heard voices talking inside. He saw a silhouette just in front of the door. The lad decided to open it, ignoring the fact that he might bump into the person.

Which he did. The door slammed into the back of the person standing before the object before it came back and smacked him ruthlessly in the nose.

"HEY! Excuse you! Aren't you looking where you're going?!" Yelled the person he just bumped into who was now sprawled on the floor just in front of him.

He discovered it was a girl bases on the tone of her high-pitched voice voice. Although he still couldn't decipher the owner of the voice as he was busily rubbing his nose with his eyes shut tight.

"Tch. It's your own damn fault for standing in front of the door when I'm trying to get through," Retorted the holder of crimson eyes. While he continued to rub his nose to ease the pain, he felt a slight shift in his surroundings.

Opening his eyes, he recognized the person he bumped into as Mikan Sakura Yukihara, the girl he had seen earlier who was being chased by their psychotic teacher. He scowled down towards her with enmity.

Mikan looked up to make a comeback to the rude comment she heard. But her voice died out as she saw a scowling Natsume Hyuuga. Everyone in the academy knew that the face was a wicked bad sign.

"Wha-What's your problem?" Squeaked the brown-haired girl quietly. She silently prayed that he hadn't heard what she said in abhorrence that she might anger him even more than she already had.

Unfortunately, one rumor was true about Natsume Hyuuga: He had amazingly keen ears.

"My problem is with how much noise you're making so early in the morning, _Mikan Sakura Yukihara,_" He spat her name with such venom. His cold eyes sent shivers down her spine, especially when his crimson orbs locked securely onto her chocolate-brown ones.

As the raven-haired lad proceeded towards his desk which was located at the back, a deafening silence surrounded the whole class. They were all undoubtedly shocked by the statement that the raven-haired lad said. Plus no one was fond of hearing Natsume Hyuuga saying a name of a person, much less know his/her full name.

All eyes turned to analyze Natsume Hyuuga who was sitting comfortably at his desk with his feet propped up onto another desk. A manga was casually placed within his hands as his eyes glazed across the page.

Feeling that all eyes were on him, Natsume slowly lifted his head up and glared at every person who had their eyes set on him. Noticing the dark aura that was emitting from the raven-haired lad they all minded their own business.

**~O~**

The brown-haired girl sighed to herself again for the hundred time that day.

Anna, being the observant type of girl, noticed the restlessness of her best friend after what happened between Natsume and her.

"Ne, Mikan-chan don't worry about it too much. That's just the way Natsume-kun is, y'know?" Encouraged the bubblegum-haired girl. Mikan gave Anna an appreciative gaze.

"Ever since you beat him in that sports festival a while back, he's held a pretty deep grudge to you Mikan-chan, Added Nonoko jokingly. Although it only made the holder of amber orbs girl even more depressed.

"Ye-Yeah. But despite his totally bad attitude, I think he's got some cute sides too. Like y'know how an arrogant brat can be cute? Like that," Anna quickly added after noticing what Nonoko said had affected Mikan.

"The Sports Festival… But I only participated in the boy's race because everyone else _made_ me do it!" Mikan pouted, remembering her experience in the recent Sports Festival last spring.

It was not a great memory considering she made an enemy out of the most dangerous guy in her class, Natsume Hyuuga. For some unknown reason, Mikan didn't believe the rumors of him. Like that preposterous story of him killing someone was somehow laughably invalid to her.

Even if he did kill someone there must have been a reason behind his actions. There's a saying that goes, "Don't judge a book by its cover." If one were to live life by the guidelines of the said saying - like Mikan tried to do - then they wouldn't judge Natsume by his looks and all of his rumors.

Suddenly the door to their classroom opened and there stood a more or less 32 year old man. His name was Nodachii, often called Noda by his students. Noda had brownish-gray hair and his eyes were always squinted tightly due to his constant smiling. He usually wore a white shirt, blue jeans and brown shoes with white tips.

"Okay guys, settle down! Homeroom's about to begin!"

"Oh! Noda-sensie is already here," Nonoko announced.

"Oh crap! We'll talk later," I replied.

The students returned to their seats and went through their tedious day at school. All unaware that something huge was about to occur. Something that would effect several and leave the wrest astounded.

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If you ever know who said that quote, feel free to inform me, it'd be greatly appreciated...

It's an Anime Quote I found on tumblr, it's from a manga, at first glance I thought it was from Orihara Izaya, I don't what to put it there if it's wrong ^^"

Please leave your comment on this chapter ^^...


	3. The Past

**Kiss of the Rose Princess**

**Beta-Reader:** Brisken

**Disclaimer:** I do not own anything except for my own characters, if any and certain twists and turns of plot.

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Chapter 3: **The Past **

_"There are those in this world, who like being left alone. But there isn't a single person in this world who can bear being alone."_

**-Makarov Dreyar(Fairy Tail)**

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Mikan's POV:

_"If you remove it, a terrible punishment will befall you."_

That sole statement has been repeating itself through my mind these days. It seemed as though my uncle was hunting me because I always tried to get my stupid choker off my neck, only to fail miserably myriads of times. Plus, every time I tried to take it off, bad things would happen around me.

What exactly was the punishment that my uncle was talking about?

Could it be the bad things that had been happening to me whenever I tried to remove the choker off my neck? Or was it much worse than that?

Were those misfortunes merely warnings?

A shiver ran down my spine as images flashed through my head of what horrifying things may happen. Then, a thought struck me:

What if _my_ bad luck caused those around me serious harm? How could I live with myself?

Within moments I eradicated the idea from my brain. Nothing would happen as long as the choker was on me anyways so why bother worrying now? I'll ponder on it when the time comes.

I don't really know what the punishment was, but if my failed attempts of removing it caused me multiple series of bad luck, how horrid would my luck be if I ever dared to actually _take_ it off?

It's ironic to think that the thing that was supposed to _safeguard_ me from harm was the one that was putting _me_ in danger.

I hadn't exactly had the happiest memories of me and my uncle being together. From what I could remember, my uncle was the one who took good care of me when my father and mother died after a few months of my birth.

The truth was that I didn't really know what the real story was behind my mother and father's death. Mainly because my uncle didn't tell me _anything_ of that sort, except for the fact that they died for some reason.

Every time I had the chance to ask Uncle about my parents, his tone of voice changed from a tranquil manner to that of a vicious one.

I had learned quickly that the topic was _taboo_.

Whenever - and when I say whenever, I mean _whenever -_I brought up the subject, my uncle's mood changed _every time._

It really was a mystery to me as to how his attitude and mood could change so easily. At times I even wondered if he was crazy or bipolar. Even though I hadn't had that much time with him, I could still remember some bits and pieces of when I was together with him.

He was the protective and caring kind of uncle; he always took care of me when I was still at a very young age - or so I thought. I can't really tell cause it's a vague piece of my memory.

Even though he was the one who took good care of me when I was still young, I couldn't even clearly recall the face of the man who left me with those creepy words that kept popping up these days.

My guess was that he flew all over the world as a part of his job. With that theory, my uncle could still be out there somewhere... But, would it kill him to send me - his _only_ niece and relative ( as I had been told by him) - mail from time to time?

I haven't heard a lot from him lately. I even had rough ideas that if I were to ever drop off the face of Earth; he wouldn't as much as to notice. Although he did send me money every month to support me in everything I did.

Seriously, the amount of money he sends is more than enough to provide for the things I need. I give the excess amount of money to Jii-chan to cover up everything he had done for me throughout the days that we had been together.

I often racked my brain to find out if I even had good memories together with my uncle. Although, after all of the time I had spent thinking about it, an answer seemed to have found its way into my dreams…

I didn't really know if those words were just a dream, but a few months ago I dreamed of a 5 year old girl that looked _exactly_ like me. The only difference was that my hair color from _that _time was only slightly brownish-blond and a man between his thirties to forties sat across from the the younger me.

The 5 year old me had her shoulder-length hair into pigtails that were held up by two rose clips, complimenting her hair. I wore a sundress with designs of roses in various colors like red, blue, white and black. Thorns surrounded and connected each of the flowers together. From one's perspective, it looked like the thorn was binding them all together.

On my neck was _same_ wretched choker that I had tried to remove so many times in the last few years. I didn't know what had been going through my mind when I had agreed on letting my uncle put the rose choker on me. Maybe I got fascinated by it and agreed immediately without knowing the consequences.

I had to admit: the rose choker was pretty and you couldn't find it anywhere so it was pretty unique.

At first, when I saw my dress, it kinda' fascinated me. It somehow held a meaning between those roses. And then I noticed an odd thing: all of the colors in the roses were natural - red, white, and black.

Except for the blue rose.

It was true that blue roses existed, but it was cultured and not natural. It bugged me because it seemed like it was an outsider from the others which were naturally colored.

Albeit, all of them were beautiful; but the blue rose seemed to reach out and grasp your attention, hiding those surrounding it.

In my perspective it seems like it's outcasted by the others. I don't know why, but it kind of affected me…

The man's face was not clear to me, although I thought that it was my uncle considering that I didn't have any other known relatives aside from him.

Together they looked as if they were having fun being around each other's presence. The smile on the little me was one of the brightest smiles I had ever seen. And in that dream, for the first time in my life, I had seen my "assumed" uncle smiling and laughing together with the little me. It might not have reached his eyes, but a smile is still a smile.

I'd never seen his face like that before. Considering he left me when I was still six years old to continue his job as a researcher, he traveled around a lot.

Seriously, the times that we spent together were either filled with the phone calls to work or goodbyes as he would hop into his limo that would send him to the airport.

Before he had left me in the care of Jii-chan, he had been acting weird around me.

It had all started when he had come home after a research business he had attended. Whenever I'd try to approach him, he'd send me glares and would make rude remarks, or - when he was especially morose - he'd ignore me.

Being the dense little girl I was, I continued to incessantly open his locked heart. But, after seeing the look in his eyes, I thought twice before approaching him. The look in his eyes told me that he was not in the slightest mood to see me.

However, sadness could be seen in his eyes. I was as if he was missing someone or feeling the loneliness of losing someone he treasured deeply. He had such a distant and faraway look in his eyes.

One that made those surrounding him doleful and frustrated with themselves.

As we had stared at each other's eyes, I could read yet another expression: guilt. A week after his weird behavior had began; he had left me in the care of Jii-chan to continue his research further.

When he had left me at such a young age, I was left in the care of our neighbor, Mr. Sakura. I call him Jii-chan since I was very close to him and he often gave me candies to cheer me up whenever I was feeling down.

He was fond of kids so it was not hard for him to take care of me. He said he used to work at a kindergarten school and at a temple so children were pretty close with him and vice versa.

I always wondered why Jii-chan never asked about the choker that was always around my neck. Maybe he thought it was just an accessory of kids these days?

【・_・?】

Four years had passed when he had left me and I hadn't received any mail or letters from my uncle besides the money he sent us.

I was ten years old when Jii-chan began suffering from an illness - a Heart Tumor. Jii-chan got admitted to the hospital so he could get proper help. He couldn't move around that much, unlike before wherein he was so energetic that he even took baths outside early in the morning when it was freezing cold.

I was eleven years old when Jii-chan's health began deteriorating daily. We took therapies every week which caused our budget to shorten. There was a time where I decided to stop going to school in order to take care of Jii-chan.

Upon my decision, Jii-chan strongly disagreed, saying that education was one of the most important parts of our life. I couldn't argue more or it would've cause Jii-chan's state to get more worse than it already was.

Jii-chan and I enjoyed every minute of our lives while being in each others presence. I often told jokes to cheer him up a little in order to not make him upset with his illness. How I had wished time would have slowed momentarily during those days.

However, good times didn't always last forever. After about half a year, Jii-chan passed away…

During those months wherein Jii-chan was still around, we talked about many things. We talked about the oddest things that you could talk about when a person was about to die. We might have joked around but we could feel the tense atmosphere that was building up whenever the topic had relationships whatsoever with death.

And the day before Jii-chan died, he had said something to me that I, myself, hadn't notice… He said that my attitude was slowly changing and that he would like me not to change, no matter what happened.

Although I ignored it, it didn't mean that it didn't affect me - not in the slightest. It had bugged me every time I had remembered Jii-chan saying it because it was as though he knew he was going to die soon and that those would be his last, and final, words for me.

Maybe he knew that, because of his death, it might change me.

Then, finally, the day that I was afraid to come, had came.

_Flashback:_

_I was so excited to go to the hospital for it was Jii-chan's 86th birthday today. Even though he would not that I prepared for his birthday, saying that it's just a waste of money and time. I saved up some money with my allowance to celebrate this day together with Jii-chan!_

_I first had gone to the Cake Shop to buy Jii-chan's favorite cake. After that, I had went to the Gift Shop to buy Jii-chan something that was not too expensive or else he would scold me for 'wasting money' again._

_So, I had decided just to give him an hour glass - I know right? So ordinary and nothing flashy, but something in the hour glass had tempted me to buy it._

_I was skipping my way to the room where Jii-chan was located when I noticed that a bunch of nurses and doctors were running to and fro from Jii-chan's room._

_Instantly, thousands of scenarios flashed through my mind._

He's having another seizure, his tumor needs to be surgically removed with an 80% of him dying, his ribs have cracked due to its size, he has lost unconsciousness for unknown reasons, Jii-chan is...

_I couldn't allow myself to finish the though as tears were already streaming down my cheeks. Trepidations and mortification motivated my concrete feet to move towards his door._

That was when the nurse had grabbed me.

"_Stay out of the room for the moment. We will handle things here by ourselves." The nurse roughly pushed me back on a chair just beside Jii-chan's door as a trail of nurses rushed into Jii-chan's room with a cart of pain killers._

_I slumped down against the chair, clearly horrified by the possibility of losing Jii-chan in my life. About a couple of minutes later the people inside Jii-chan's room came out with grim expressions plastered on their faces._

_The nurse that had talked to me earlier approached me once again with a look of pity directed towards me. I was praying to the Heavens that she wouldn't say what I thought she'd say._

_With the gift I had intended to give to Jii-chan for his birthday that day still in my hands, I kept chanting the words repeatedly: He's not dead. He won't die. Jii-chan's alive._

_People around the area were looking at until__she decided to crouch down to my level and say the words that I had most dreaded to hear._"_I'm sorry to say that your grandfather didn't make it," she whispered only for me to hear._

_With that, the faculty cleared as to give me space to think and mourn._

_All of my efforts of persuading myself that Jii-chan couldn't possibly be dead had been in vain. Time itself seemed to stop. I couldn't see anything but pure darkness around me._

_My heart was pounding as if it was trying to burst out from my chest. All the while, the anxious beating of my heart beat became faster and louder until I couldn't breathe. My throat was tight; I doubted I could even force a single word out of my mouth if I tried._

Jii-chan, the one person who never seemed to hate me - the one and only human who had displayed true affection to me - was dead. His gleeful face would never shine again - no. It would be glued into a stoic expression of death as he'd be buried under the tons of filthy dirt.

No longer would I have the comfort of his words or touch. No longer would I be able to laugh freely with content at his youthful yet wise behavior. Jii-chan was gone, and with him went my will. My will to learn, my will to please, my will to find love and happiness, but most of all, my will to live.

_I stayed seated there, motionless, except for the pounding of my heart and the breaths that I tried to obtain. I reached up to my throat, trying to massage it, only to add to the pain._

_My whole body froze - safe for my eyes which were glued open in terror.__The beating in my chest suddenly stopped and I went weak in the knees, forcing me to kneel against the ground._

_The world around me - the walls of the hospital, the people around me shouting for help, the rushing nurses running towards my direction - all them faded to black._

_End of Flashback_

Before I had fully fell into unconsciousness, I had found myself staring into marvelous lavender orbs...

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